Big Country are a Scottish
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in
Dunfermline,
Fife, in 1981.
The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scottish folk and martial music styles, and the band engineered their guitar-driven sound to evoke the sound of
bagpipes,
fiddles, and other traditional
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
instruments.
Career
Formation
Big Country comprised
Stuart Adamson
William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...
(formerly of
Skids,
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
/guitar/
keyboards),
Bruce Watson (guitar/
mandolin/
sitar
The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...
/
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
),
Tony Butler (
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
/vocals) and
Mark Brzezicki
Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with the Cult, Ultravox, From the Jam, Procol Harum, Rick Astley, the Crazy World of ...
(
drums/
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
/vocals).
Before the recruitment of Butler and Brzezicki an early incarnation of Big Country was a five-piece band, featuring
Peter Wishart (later of
Runrig
Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s (the band's most succe ...
and now a
Scottish National Party MP) on keyboards, his brother Alan on bass, and
Clive Parker
Clive Parker (born 1960) also known as Clive Parker-Sharp, is an English drummer, active in the punk, post-punk and new wave genres. He was a member of the bands The Members, Spizzenergi/Athletico Spizz 80, Big Country, and Scary Thieves. He ...
, drummer from
Spizz Energi/Athletico Spizz '80.
Adamson auditioned Parker (1981) at
The Members
The Members are a British punk band that originated in Camberley, Surrey, England. In the UK, they are best known for their single "The Sound of the Suburbs", reaching No. 12 in 1979, and in Australia, "Radio" which reached No. 5 in 1982.
Ca ...
' rehearsal room in
Ladbroke Grove
Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue.
It is also a name given ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and the next day was called on to play drums on demos for
CBS Records CBS Records may refer to:
* CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company
* CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990
* CBS Records (2006), founde ...
at their Whitfield Street studios. The demos were produced by
Adam Sieff and just featured Adamson, Parker and Watson. Adamson had asked bassist
Dave Allen from
Gang of Four to join the band but he declined. Adamson asked Parker to join the band, which led to eight months of rehearsal in
Dunfermline in a disused furniture warehouse.
The culmination was a concert at the Glen Pavilion in
Dunfermline and an interview with
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland is a Scotland, Scottish radio station, radio network owned and operated by BBC Scotland, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same na ...
where the CBS Studio demos were utilised. The band then played live with
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
's Special Forces tour for two concerts in February 1982 at
Brighton and
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...
.
Butler and Brzezicki, working under the name 'Rhythm for Hire,' were brought in to play on "
Harvest Home." They immediately hit it off with Adamson and Watson, who invited them to join the band.
Commercial success
Big Country's first single was "
Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982.
It was a modest success, although it did not reach the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
.
Their next single was 1983's "
Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was rapidly followed by the album ''
The Crossing''.
The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the Top 20 in the
''Billboard'' 200), powered by "
In a Big Country
"In a Big Country" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country. It was released in May 1983 as the third single from their debut studio album '' The Crossing''. The song reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1983. It was released in th ...
", their only US Top 40 hit single.
The song features heavily engineered guitar sounds, strongly reminiscent of bagpipes;
Adamson and fellow guitarist Watson achieved this through the use of the
MXR Pitch Transposer 129 Guitar Effect. Also contributing to the band's unique sound was their use of the
e-bow
The EBow, short for electronic bow or energy bow, is an electronic device used for playing string instruments, most often the electric guitar. It is manufactured by Heet Sound Products, of Los Angeles, California. It was invented by Greg Heet i ...
, a device which allows a guitar to sound more like strings or synthesizer. ''The Crossing'' sold over a million copies in the UK and obtained gold record status (sales of over 500,000) in the US. The band performed at the
Grammy Awards and on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
''.
Big Country released the non-LP extended play single "
Wonderland" in 1984,
while in the middle of a lengthy worldwide tour. The song, considered by some critics to be one of their finest, was a
Top Ten hit (No. 8) in the UK Singles Chart
but, despite heavy airplay and a positive critical response, was a comparative flop in the US, reaching only No. 86 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was the last single by the band to make the US charts.
Their second album ''
Steeltown'' (1984) was a hit as soon as it was released, entering the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
at No. 1.
The album featured three UK top 30 hit singles, and received considerable critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic, but like ''Wonderland'' (and, in fact, all subsequent releases) it was a commercial disappointment in the US, peaking at No. 70 on the ''
Billboard'' album chart.
On Christmas 1984, the four members participated in the
Band Aid charity record "
Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...
". They are among a small handful of acts to contribute a spoken message to the
B-side of the single.
Throughout 1984 and 1985 the band toured the UK, Europe, and to a lesser extent the US both as headliners and in support of such bigger-name artists as
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
and
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...
. They also recorded prolifically, and provided the musical score to a Scottish independent film, ''
Restless Natives
''Restless Natives'' is a 1985 Scottish cinema adventure comedy, directed by Michael Hoffman.
Plot
The story follows the adventures of two Scottish youths from the Wester Hailes district of Edinburgh, played by Vincent Friell and Joe Mullan ...
'' (1985), which was released years later on the band's ''Restless Natives and Rarities'' (1998) collection. Big Country had backed
Roger Daltrey
Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who.
Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...
on his 1985 solo album ''Under the Raging Moon'', and Tony Butler played bass and provided backing vocals on
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
's 1980 hit single "Let My Love Open the Door" and the
Pretenders
Pretenders may refer to:
* The Pretenders
Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (le ...
' 1982 hit single "
Back On The Chain Gang
"Back on the Chain Gang" is a song written by Chrissie Hynde and originally recorded by her band the Pretenders, and released as a single by Sire Records in September 1982. The song also was released on '' The King of Comedy'' soundtrack album i ...
". Both Butler and Brzezicki performed on Townshend's 1985 solo album ''
White City: A Novel''. Brzezicki played drums for
The Cult
The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...
on their 1985 ''
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love o ...
'' album and was featured in the video for the single, "
She Sells Sanctuary
"She Sells Sanctuary" is a song by British rock band the Cult. It is from their second studio album, ''Love'' (1985), and was released as a single on 13 May 1985, peaking at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart in July of the same year. In July 20 ...
".
1986's ''
The Seer'', the band's third album, was another big success in the UK, peaking at Number 2.
It produced three further Top 30 singles, including the Irish number one hit "
Look Away
"Look Away" is a 1988 power ballad by American rock band Chicago. Written by Diane Warren, produced by Ron Nevison, and with Bill Champlin on lead vocals, it is the second single from the band's album '' Chicago 19''. "Look Away" topped the ' ...
", which would also prove to be the band's biggest hit in the UK, peaking at No. 7.
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...
provided backing vocals on the album's title track, and the album received good reviews from the music press. In the US, ''The Seer'' sold a little bit better than ''Steeltown'', reaching No. 59 on the ''Billboard'' chart.
In what some critics felt was an apparent attempt to regain their dwindling US following, Big Country used producer
Peter Wolf for their next album, ''
Peace in Our Time'' (1988), which was recorded in Los Angeles. It reached No. 9 in the UK Albums Chart,
but sold poorly in the United States.
The album launch took place in Moscow and was accompanied by a tour of the USSR, a political statement some felt seemed insincere. During the ''Peace in Our Time'' UK tour, the band were supported by
Diesel Park West
Diesel Park West are an English alternative rock band from Leicester, England. Formed in 1980, they have released nine official albums, plus six singles that have appeared in the UK Singles Chart.
Current line-up
*John Butler (vocals, guitar)
...
and
Cry Before Dawn.
The 1990s
''
No Place Like Home'' (1991) nearly broke up the band. Drummer Mark Brzezicki returned to the studio as a session drummer after leaving the band. The album found Big Country trying to reinvent themselves and shift away from their 1980s image.
It was not a commercial success and was not released in America, although two re-recorded tracks showed up on 1993's ''The Buffalo Skinners''.
In 1991, the band was dropped by
Mercury and its distributor
Phonogram
Phonogram may refer to:
* A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention
* ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
* Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...
, the companies that had released all of their material since 1983. After that, Big Country became a minor act, popping up in the lower echelons of the charts in the UK and Europe with the release of every subsequent album.
Only one of these, 1993's ''
The Buffalo Skinners'', received a major label release (via
Chrysalis Records), and it seemed a return to form of sorts for the band, reaching the UK Top 25.
The album obtained enthusiastic critical response, and although it produced two UK Top 30 singles in "
Alone" and "
Ships",
its sales were meagre.
In June 1995, Big Country released their seventh studio album, ''
Why the Long Face''.
1999 saw the release of Big Country's eighth and final studio album with Adamson at the helm, ''
Driving to Damascus'' (titled in its slightly different, augmented US release ''
John Wayne's Dream''). Adamson said publicly that he was pleased with the album but disappointed that it did not fare better on the charts, which led to depression. Later that year, he disappeared for a while before resurfacing, stating that he had needed some time off.
Adamson moved to
Nashville in the mid-1990s, where he met country music singer/songwriter
Marcus Hummon
Marcus Spencer Hummon (born December 28, 1960) is an American country music artist. He is the father of country singer Levi Hummon.
Early life
Hummon was born in Washington, D.C.. He graduated from Williams College.
Career
After several years o ...
, and together they released an alternative country studio album as
The Raphaels
The Raphaels were an alternative country music band, fronted by Scottish guitarist Stuart Adamson, formerly of Skids and Big Country. The duo also featured Nashville songwriter Marcus Hummon. The duo only toured briefly playing various dates ...
in 2001.
Farewell tour, Adamson's death
Adamson returned for the band's 'Final Fling' farewell tour, culminating in a sold-out concert at
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
's
Barrowland Ballroom on 31 May 2000. They played what turned out to be their last gig in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, sub ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, in October that year.
In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Mark Brzezicki and Tony Butler had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and both later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in
Honolulu
Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...
, Hawaii on 16 December 2001.
A memorial to Adamson was held at
Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline in January 2002, followed by a tribute concert at Glasgow Barrowlands in May. It brought together the remaining members of both Big Country and
Skids; Adamson's teenage children, Callum and Kirsten; as well as
Steve Harley,
Runrig
Runrig were a Scottish Celtic rock band formed on the Isle of Skye in 1973. From its inception, the band's line-up included songwriters Rory Macdonald and Calum Macdonald. The line-up during most of the 1980s and 1990s (the band's most succe ...
,
Simon Townshend
Simon Townshend (; born 10 October 1960) is a British guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is the younger brother of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend, and is most associated with The Who and the various side projects of its original members ...
,
Midge Ure and
Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...
.
2007–present
In 2007, to celebrate 25 years of Big Country, founding members Bruce Watson, Tony Butler (now lead vocalist for the first time), and Mark Brzezicki reunited to embark on a tour of the UK with dates in Scotland and England and a gig in Cologne (Germany). They also released a new album, ''Twenty Five Live'', on the
Track Records
Track Record (a.k.a. Track Records) was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most succe ...
label. After the anniversary activity, the band returned to their hiatus.
The surviving original members toured again in late December 2010 and January 2011 with
Mike Peters of
the Alarm
The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, the Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon embraced arena rock and included marked influences from Welsh languag ...
and Jamie Watson, Bruce's son, added to the line-up. This line-up began more regular touring as well as writing new material for potential release, in part with the involvement of record producer
Steve Lillywhite
Stephen Alan Lillywhite, (born 15 March 1955) is a British record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts XTC, Bi ...
. The efforts resulted in the creation of Big Country's first single in 11 years, entitled "Another Country".
In a September 2012 press release, Bruce Watson announced that Butler had retired from the group at the end of their last tour. He was replaced by former
Simple Minds bassist
Derek Forbes
Derek Forbes (born 22 June 1956) is a Scottish bassist, vocalist, and occasional guitarist. He is mostly associated with the Scottish band Simple Minds, having joined in time to record their early demos in 1978 and stayed with the band during ...
, who was Adamson's original choice for bassist on the initial Big Country recordings, although Forbes was not asked due to shyness on Adamson's part. The group also parted ways with longtime manager Ian Grant at the same time as Butler's departure. With the involvement of Forbes, later in 2012 and into 2013, the group recorded a new album in the Welsh town of
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
. The new material featured lyrics composed by Peters over band-written music; Butler still held writing credits on most of the album, with Forbes having contributed on a number of tracks as well, although he played all the album's bass parts. Titled ''
The Journey The Journey may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Journey'' (1942 film), or ''El viaje'', an Argentine film
* ''The Journey'' (1959 film), an American drama starring Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards about the Hungarian Revoluti ...
'', the album was released through Cherry Red Records in April 2013, becoming the group's first studio record since 1999. Further performances followed throughout the year, including a month-long North American tour between July and August.
Mike Peters left the band in November 2013 at the end of their 19-date Land's End to John O'Groats UK Tour. The band attributed Peters' departure to his inability to commit fully to Big Country, much of his time being devoted to The Alarm and solo projects. Initially, the band intended to continue as a four-piece, sharing lead vocals and returning all the songs to their original keys; Peters had required the songs to be tuned lower to accommodate his deeper voice. However, when they resurfaced in December 2013, they were joined by English singer Simon Hough, who performed most of the lead vocals as well as harmonica and additional guitar.
While the status of Hough's membership was not immediately clarified, in a March 2014 podcast, Bruce Watson confirmed that Hough was now the band's fifth member. He also indicated that the group was working on new material, which would involve Hough, for potential future release.
On 9 July 2015, the band announced that Derek Forbes would no longer be performing with Big Country, and that all forthcoming gigs would go on with a replacement, Scott Whitley.
On 12 November 2021 the band announced that bassist Scott Whitley would be leaving the band to pursue other interests. His replacement is Gil Allan from Dunfermline.
Band members
;Current members
*
Bruce Watson – guitar, mandolin, sitar, vocals
(1981–2000, 2007, 2010–present)
*
Mark Brzezicki
Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with the Cult, Ultravox, From the Jam, Procol Harum, Rick Astley, the Crazy World of ...
– drums
(1982–1989, 1993–2000, 2007, 2010–present)
*Jamie Watson – guitars
(2010–present)
*Simon Hough – vocals, guitar, harmonica
(2013–present)
*Gil Allan – bass
(2021–present)
;Former members
*
Stuart Adamson
William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...
– vocals, guitar, keyboards
(1981–2000; died 2001)
*
Pete Wishart
Peter Wishart (born 9 March 1962) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician and musician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Perth and North Perthshire, formerly North Tayside, since the 2001 general election.
Wishart ...
– keyboards
(1981–198
/small>
*Alan Wishart – bass (1981–1982)
*Clive Parker
Clive Parker (born 1960) also known as Clive Parker-Sharp, is an English drummer, active in the punk, post-punk and new wave genres. He was a member of the bands The Members, Spizzenergi/Athletico Spizz 80, Big Country, and Scary Thieves. He ...
– drums (1981–1982)
* Tony Butler – bass (1982–2000, 2007, 2010–2012), vocals (2007)
*Pat Ahern – drums (1990–1991)
* Mike Peters – vocals (2010–2013)
*Derek Forbes
Derek Forbes (born 22 June 1956) is a Scottish bassist, vocalist, and occasional guitarist. He is mostly associated with the Scottish band Simple Minds, having joined in time to record their early demos in 1978 and stayed with the band during ...
– bass (2012–2015)
*Scott Whitley - bass (2015–2021)
Timeline
ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:22
PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:10 right:50
Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1981 till:01/01/2021
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy
Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom
ScaleMajor = increment:5 start:1981
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1982
Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitars value:green legend:Guitars
id:Keyboards value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:Lines value:black legend:Studio albums
LineData =
at:07/15/1983 color:black layer:back
at:10/01/1984 color:black layer:back
at:07/01/1986 color:black layer:back
at:09/01/1988 color:black layer:back
at:09/01/1991 color:black layer:back
at:03/01/1993 color:black layer:back
at:06/05/1995 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/1999 color:black layer:back
at:04/08/2013 color:black layer:back
BarData =
bar:Adamson text:"Stuart Adamson"
bar:Peters text:"Mike Peters"
bar:Hough text:"Simon Hough"
bar:BWatson text:"Bruce Watson"
bar:JWatson text:"Jamie Watson"
bar:PWishart text:"Pete Wishart"
bar:AWishart text:"Alan Wishart"
bar:Butler text:"Tony Butler"
bar:Forbes text:"Derek Forbes"
bar:Whitley text:"Scott Whitley"
bar:Parker text:"Clive Parker"
bar:Brzezicki text:"Mark Brzezicki"
bar:Ahern text:"Pat Ahern"
PlotData=
width:3 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Adamson from:01/01/1981 till:12/16/2001 color:Guitars
bar:Peters from:12/01/2010 till:11/09/2013 color:Guitars
bar:Hough from:12/27/2013 till:end color:Guitars
bar:BWatson from:01/01/1981 till:12/16/2001 color:Vocals
bar:BWatson from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Vocals
bar:BWatson from:12/01/2010 till:end color:Vocals
width:7 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Adamson from:09/05/1982 till:12/16/2001 color:Keyboards
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Adamson from:01/01/1981 till:12/16/2001 color:Vocals
bar:Peters from:12/01/2010 till:11/09/2013 color:Vocals
bar:Hough from:12/27/2013 till:end color:Vocals
bar:BWatson from:01/01/1981 till:12/16/2001 color:Guitars
bar:BWatson from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Guitars
bar:BWatson from:12/01/2010 till:end color:Guitars
bar:JWatson from:12/01/2010 till:end color:Guitars
bar:PWishart from:01/01/1981 till:09/05/1982 color:Keyboards
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bar:Butler from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Bass
bar:Butler from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Vocals width:3
bar:Butler from:12/01/2010 till:10/01/2012 color:Bass
bar:Forbes from:10/01/2012 till:07/09/2015 color:Bass
bar:Whitley from:07/09/2015 till:end color:Bass
bar:Parker from:01/01/1981 till:09/05/1982 color:Drums
bar:Brzezicki from:09/05/1982 till:07/01/1989 color:Drums
bar:Brzezicki from:06/01/1993 till:12/16/2001 color:Drums
bar:Brzezicki from:01/01/2007 till:09/01/2008 color:Drums
bar:Brzezicki from:12/01/2010 till:end color:Drums
bar:Ahern from:07/01/1989 till:06/01/1993 color:Drums
Discography
Studio albums
*''
The Crossing'' (1983)
*''
Steeltown'' (1984)
*''
The Seer'' (1986)
*''
Peace in Our Time'' (1988)
*''
No Place Like Home'' (1991)
*''
The Buffalo Skinners'' (1993)
*''
Why the Long Face'' (1995)
*''
Driving to Damascus'' (1999)
*''
The Journey The Journey may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Journey'' (1942 film), or ''El viaje'', an Argentine film
* ''The Journey'' (1959 film), an American drama starring Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, and Jason Robards about the Hungarian Revoluti ...
'' (2013)
Music videos
* "
Harvest Home" – September 1982
* "
Fields of Fire (song), Fields of Fire" – February 1983
* "
In a Big Country
"In a Big Country" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country. It was released in May 1983 as the third single from their debut studio album '' The Crossing''. The song reached No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart in June 1983. It was released in th ...
" – May 1983
* "
Chance
Chance may refer to:
Mathematics and Science
* In mathematics, likelihood of something (by way of the Likelihood function and/or Probability density function).
* ''Chance'' (statistics magazine)
Places
* Chance, Kentucky, US
* Chance, Mary ...
" – August 1983
* "
Wonderland" – January 1984
* "
East of Eden" – September 1984
* "
Where the Rose Is Sown" – November 1984
* "
Just a Shadow" - January 1985
* "
Look Away
"Look Away" is a 1988 power ballad by American rock band Chicago. Written by Diane Warren, produced by Ron Nevison, and with Bill Champlin on lead vocals, it is the second single from the band's album '' Chicago 19''. "Look Away" topped the ' ...
" – April 1986
* "
Hold the Heart" – November 1986
* "
The Teacher" – June 1986
* "
One Great Thing
"One Great Thing" is the third single from Scottish band Big Country's 1986 album, '' The Seer''. The composition of the song and in particular the guitar solo appears to feature similar melody from the chorus of Bonnie Banks O' Loch Lomond. ...
" – August 1986
* "
King of Emotion" – August 1988
* "
Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)" – October 1988
* "
Peace in Our Time" – January 1989
* "
Save Me" – April 1990
* "
Heart of the World" – July 1990
* "
Republican Party Reptile" – August 1991
* "
Beautiful People" – October 1991
* "
Alone" – March 1993
* "
Ships" – April 1993
* "
I'm Not Ashamed" – May 1995
* "
You Dreamer" – August 1995
* "
Fragile Thing" – August 1999
* "See You" – October 1999
* "Somebody Else" – May 2000
* "Another Country" – August 2011
* "Hurt" – April 2013
* "In a Broken Promise Land" – April 2013
References
External links
*
Big Country LiveTrouser Press: Big Country entryBig Country fan websiteStuart Adamson website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Country
Scottish alternative rock groups
Scottish new wave musical groups
Scottish rock music groups
Scottish folk rock groups
Celtic rock groups
Musical groups established in 1981
Musical quartets
Giant Records (Warner) artists
Mercury Records artists
Vertigo Records artists
Chrysalis Records artists
Transatlantic Records artists
Articles which contain graphical timelines
Scottish post-punk music groups
Second British Invasion artists